Doctors In the Isolated Room

By MORI Hiroshi

This book is a complete edition including Chapters 1-13 of "Doctors In the Isolated Room," the maiden work by the genius novelist Dr. MORI Hiroshi, who boasts over 370 works as of March 2024. Without this work, neither the legendary debut novel "The Perfect Insider" nor the cumulative 17 million copies of the so-called "MORI Mystery" would have been born.

One year after the nightmarish murders depicted in "The Perfect Insider," Associate Professor Sohei Saikawa, accompanied by his student Moe Nishinosono, a sophomore at N University, visits the low-temperature laboratory of the Polar Environment Research Center where his colleague works, and encounters a mysterious murder that occurred in the "isolated room."

With many people watching and in a perfectly locked room, the bodies of two graduate students, a man and a woman, were found. How did the victims and the murderer entered the locked room?

The scrap-and-build acrobatic reasonings unfolded one after another by Saikawa, Moe, and Associate Professor Kita, Saikawa's close friend, represent a rare achievement that Dr. MORI himself describes as having "gotten carried away" because it is his maiden work.

Please do not miss this monumental masterpiece that gave birth to the "S & M (Saikawa & Moe) series" about the master-disciple detective duo, the most favored by readers in the history of Japanese mystery.

At the end of the book, "The Interview About Doctors In the Isolated Room with Dr. MORI, Hiroshi" is also included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9781304507266

Book preview

Ground Plan

ダイアグラム 自動的に生成された説明

List of characters

[Instructors of Polar Environment Research Center]

Kyosuke Kikuma: Professor

Hokuto Kita: Associate Professor

Rika Ichinose: Research Associate

[Employees of Polar Environment Research Center]

Zentaro Hachikawa: a technical officer

Takuya Yokogishi: an office clerk

Keiko Nakamori: an office clerk

Harue Suzumura: a librarian

Koji Mukai: a guard

Syozo Ogawa: a guard

[Graduate Students of Polar Environment Research Center]

Kenjiro Niwa: second-year of doctoral course

Tamako Hattori: second-year of master’s course

Masanao Arai: first-year of doctoral course

Machiko Funami: first-year of master’s course

Shinji Wakabayashi: first-year of master’s course

Tomoya Kitaoji: second-year of master’s course

Hisashi Shimoyanagi: second-year of master’s course

Jun Masuda: a student who disappeared two years ago

[Others]

Sohei Saikawa: Associate Professor, Department of Architecture

Momoko Kunieda: Research Associate, Department of Architecture

Moe Nishinosono: a sophomore, Department of Architecture

Shosuke Nishinosono: Moe’s uncle

Chapter 1: Thought Set In Motion

-1-

Regarding the calculus problem made by Saikawa-sensei. I think ... This part to find the general solution of the differential equation is not in the textbooks for high school students. And, you know ... If they calculate this problem without any thought, it is indeed impossible to solve it in thirty minutes, isn’t it? A middle-aged professor gave his opinion.

I think so, too. Associate Professor Saikawa responded. But if they realize that they can transpose y to the left side and integrate, they should be able to get the answer in five minutes.

How many people do you think could realize that?

Ten or twenty percent, maybe. Would that be a problem? Isn’t that what an exam is all about? At least we are trying to sift through the humans with this problem ... There is no point in making a problem that everyone can solve. Saikawa spoke plainly, trying to avoid showing emotion as much as possible.

Yes, that is what an exam is supposed to be. They are not designed to find dropouts by giving problems that anyone can solve. The examinations are there to find out the outstanding talents by giving them problems that cannot be easily solved. However, Saikawa did not say so because it would cause a quarrel with his opponent. If the one had an above average brain, Saikawa’s words would have been enough for him to realize it.

Problems that require such type of inspiration are shunned. Another man said in an elegant voice. Our image will be negatively assessed if we make such problems. After all, an exam with an average 60 to 70 points score is desirable.

What is the subject of the verb assess? Saikawa wondered. Is it mass media or a prep school ...?

Understood ... Then, please reject the problem I made. Saikawa smiled. It was pointless for him to try to make his point any further.

But, I am sure that this problem is excellent. The professor who spoke earlier said, looking at the chairperson. Could you not devise and change the problem to something a little more elegant and simple?

Everyone can at least express beautiful words. Saikawa thought.

I think elegant problems require a particular spark of inspiration, am I wrong? Saikawa pointed out. The word ‘simple’ could mean many things, though ... If I make a problem solvable without a leap of imagination, it would be neither elegant nor simple ... I believe.

Well, could you think a little more in that direction? The chairperson looked at Saikawa and said. We will discuss this problem again next week.

Saikawa had no choice but to nod.

He then refrained from speaking for a while. He was formulating his opinion in his head, but on the surface, he acted expressionless.

Saikawa did not give any exams in his classes. Solving the problem is different from the person’s ability. The actual ability of a human being is to invent a problem. It is to discover what the problem is. Therefore, the act of giving a problem in an examination is not a test of the solver. The person submitting the problem is being tested in the exam. How many people realize the fact?

-2-

Sohei Saikawa returned to his room, the associate professor’s office. Like a cheap plastic boomerang, he returned with only the momentum he had gained when he took off. As the spinning power gradually wore off, he returned exhausted and staggering. Leaving the room would only drain his energy.

Of course, I knew this would happen.

Saikawa had not the slightest expectation that he would discover anything interesting there. He was even prepared to waste a portion of the time he had. Still, after a meaningless time, there was always a feeling of discomfort, the same as when he was interrupted by a vulgar salesperson. It is not an easy thing to accept.

I thought I got used to such relentless attacks from human society, though ...

When Saikawa left the room reluctantly about three hours before, he did not turn off the air conditioner. In other words, energy had been wasted the whole time to maintain the temperature in the empty room. He just wanted at least that much of a break when he returned. Now, suddenly free of the murderous heat in the corridor, Saikawa couldn’t help but sigh.

Really, those guys are all idiots.

And probably ... I think I’m one of them. That is what angers me more.

Saikawa put the committee file on his desk with a thud. It was the cheapest paper file sold at the Co-op on the university campus. The volume of the committee’s materials was inversely proportional to the importance of the contents. They usually exceeded the capacity of this cheap file. Even if the file swelled up like a zabuton cushion, Saikawa would often force it into the file, perhaps unconsciously thinking that he wanted to keep it in one place.

The committee meeting had been supposed to last an hour. But of course, as he had expected, it actually lasted three hours. It was a committee meeting related to university entrance examinations. The committee meeting might be the only one held in August when the university is on summer holidays. It was a committee to review the problems for the second round of examinations to be held at the end of the academic year. Saikawa was a member of the mathematics problem-writing committee. He was somewhat more comfortable with the one than he would have been with other subjects. He did not know where or by whom the assignment was made. At the beginning of the academic year, he received an envelope with Private & Confidential written in red. Inside was a piece of paper with only one verb in the sentence, appoint. A one-line letter of appointment. Only recently did he begin to have a negative image of the word Private & Confidential. Since it was not disclosed who was on the entrance exam committee, his hardship of being summoned to unproductive labor once a week was unknown to those around him. Rather, in the world to which he belonged, it was the norm. No one monitored what anyone was doing. It was the workplace of the university.

To begin with, Saikawa was physiologically unaccepting of all entities with the name meeting. Of course, he would try to get through them with the maximum output of his patience. Still, after Saikawa was released from the extended restraints, he was always overcome by exhaustion rather than a sense of freedom. What was most surprising to him was the fact that some people liked meetings. Saikawa could distinguish the race that made the meetings last longer than the color of their skin.

Why do they need to spend three hours just to make a decision on that trivial matter?

Maybe because they are confined to their offices on a daily basis, they think the meeting is some social gathering. Do those of that race who are different from me feel it is the fellowship they need? Perhaps they do. I could only assume that was why intelligent people like them engage in such idle chatter. I could understand their motives. It is not a wrong feeling. Humans are vulnerable like that. Even so, I hope they don’t involve other races like mine, Saikawa thought. That is all I want.

Perhaps they were seeking fellowship with other races. If so, their goal was superficially achieved, but in effect it was clearly counterproductive.

Saikawa shoved the abominable file into a steel cabinet. He opened the small refrigerator in his room and took out a can of cola. It was the last one left. Saikawa could hardly drink alcohol. Instead, he would consume cola every day in summer. Then he lit a cigarette. Smoking had recently been banned in the university’s committees. The situation of not being able to smoke for three hours made him suffer more and more.

This environment is artificial but cool. There is no ice in the can of cola, but it is cold. And now the nicotine is deeply absorbed into my entire body. Saikawa tried to force himself to think of all those good things.

His mood had improved somewhat.

There were three potted houseplants in his room. Saikawa had not brought in any of them. He had no interest in plants or animals. Nevertheless, whenever he came to work, he poured water on those freeloaders with a glass pot for his coffee maker. The pot had been cracked for several months, but so far, nothing in his room had an equivalent function.

On his desk was a 21-inch display and keyboard. Beside it was a small laptop computer with its lid closed. The notebook computer was what Saikawa always carried with him. Weighing two kilograms, it was quite heavy. But since he usually moved by car, he did not mind.

When Saikawa touched the keyboard, the screen saver, drawing a meaningless abstract picture like an amoeba, instantly disappeared, and a cluttered figure appeared on display. Besides the schedule calendar, there were three to four overlapping rectangles called windows. Saikawa moved the mouse with his right hand, bringing to the fore a light purple window that had been hidden in the back of the screen. This window was a display screen functioning as a UNIX terminal. When he pressed the return key once, the screen shifted slightly upward, and the following text appeared at the bottom:

You have new mail.

It was a message that a new e-mail had arrived. Saikawa sat in a chair with a cigarette in his mouth and tapped on the keyboard. He began to read the words scrolling on the screen.

This is Kita from PERC.

Well, I cannot work smoothly in this environment.

It has been two weeks already.

But I guess the situation is a little better.

I hope they can deal with it somehow soon because my paper’s deadline is approaching.

That bald old policeman, he’s not intelligent, is he?

He summoned you, too, right?

That’s out of the question.

Maybe, the police shouldn’t know what’s going on.

You know, they keep asking me the same question over and over again.

Well, we were both unlucky.

By the way, why don’t we have dinner tonight?

It was a text message from Kita, a co-worker, and it arrived at 3:40 p.m. Saikawa and Kita were in the same class at a private high school in Nagono City. They were also in the same university and graduate school at the same K University engineering department. Back then, they lived in the same lodgings in Kyoto. It was also the same time when they were hired as research associates at N University and returned to Nagono. Saikawa belonged to the architecture department, and Kita belonged to the civil engineering department, so their fields were relatively close. However, Kita became an associate professor one year earlier than Saikawa. Saikawa was in his third year as an associate professor. Both would turn thirty-four the following winter, and the two were single.

Another e-mail followed.

It’s Moe.

Sensei, I went to your office at 5 p.m.

You must have forgotten about me!

That’s a joke (smile).

I looked at the calendar on your display, but there was no appointment with me.

I am a bit angry, but I will wait for you at Denny’s.

Saikawa clucked his tongue slightly. He had completely forgotten about his appointment with her.

Moe was supposed to come to his office at 5 p.m. It couldn’t be helped since the committee meeting dragged on, Saikawa thought. But it was true that he had forgotten the appointment. When she had called him yesterday, Saikawa was in the middle of programming a new analysis. He had been hearing her talk absent-mindedly.

Moe Nishinosono was a student in the architecture department of N University. She was the daughter of Saikawa’s mentor, who passed away four years before. So Saikawa had known Moe well since she was a small child. Moe had been forming a personality over the past few years that was very different from the quiet image of that Dr. and Mrs. Nishinosono.

In many ways, Moe Nishinosono was a special student for Saikawa. What made her special was ambiguous, but the fact that Saikawa kept it ambiguous was the most exceptional thing for him.

I’m not going to do any more work today.

Deciding so, Saikawa picked up the phone. He pressed four buttons in succession with the sequence of numbers he had memorized.

The phone rang three times, and the person on the other end answered.

Hi, this is Kita. A loud voice was heard in his ear, and Saikawa unconsciously let go of the receiver.

Hello, it’s Saikawa, Saikawa said, trying his best to sound cheerful.

Ah, Sohei, it’s you ... Did you read my e-mail? How about tonight? Kita’s voice was in a major key as ever.

Umm, actually, I had a prior engagement. Well ... Saikawa was slurring his words slightly.

With Nishinosono-san, right?

Eh? Saikawa was a bit surprised.

You know, she called me. She seemed to be looking for you. Were you able to get in touch with her?

Oh, I see ...

For some reason, Saikawa had trouble pacing himself in conversation with Kita.

Ah, yeah. It was all Saikawa could say.

Where do you two have dinner? I want to join you. At Denny’s?

He is a man with good intuition, Saikawa thought. Considering it is the closest family restaurant to the university, it is not much of a guess, though.

Yeah, you can join us. I think Nishinosono-kun is already at Denny’s. I’m on my way from now ...

I’ll join you in about a half hour or so ... You know, I have something to talk with you two about the case ...

Kita hung up.

Something to talk about the case?

Saikawa was thinking about that.

The case ...

So ... It was a problem that he had shelved because he had recently been so busy.

No, that was not true. For the past two weeks ..., that is, from when that mysterious event occurred until today, half of Saikawa’s brain had been pondering about that incident. No, it was not an active impression to say that he had been considering about it, but at least he had been remembering it.

And he had to admit the fact.

It was a problem difficult to even recognize properly.

At any rate, it was a mysterious incident.

Saikawa had not had a chance to discuss it with Kita to date. Although they had exchanged e-mails about the case, most were complaints about the police.

Perhaps, it must have been their instinctive reaction to stay away from the issue.

Does Kita have any thoughts on the incident?

Saikawa was busy these days, as the case consumed time he had not planned to spend on it. But finally, he was getting his urgent work done. Listening to his best friend’s story could be an amusing experience. Besides, Saikawa was honestly delighted to see Moe for the first time in a long while since the incident occurred.

-3-

There was a knock at his office door.

Yes, Saikawa answered while getting ready. More specifically, he had just changed his sandals into sneakers.

A tall, thin woman entered the room. She was wearing a man’s white shirt and jeans. She wore black-rimmed glasses. She had a male-like hairstyle. In fact, her hair was shorter than Saikawa’s.

Ah, Kunieda-kun ... I’m going out for a while now ... I may not be back today, Saikawa said.

Momoko Kunieda was a research associate in Saikawa’s course. It would be rare for someone to make as bad a first impression as she did. No, not only the first impression, but many older instructors had an unfair opinion of her. She was a little rude, and her tone was aggressive. Besides, she had the clumsiness that made it impossible to argue with someone without offending them. She was quiet and unfriendly. Still, Saikawa highly valued her abilities.

Kunieda did not make any kind of greeting.

I received a call for you, Sensei, from a student in Zaire ... Research Associate Kunieda said clerically, without a smile. In Saikawa’s absence, phone calls to him were sometimes forwarded to the research associate’s office. He said he needed your research instruction. He wants to be a research student.

Really ... Saikawa glanced at Momoko Kunieda. For a master’s degree?

No, he studied in China at government expense and has a master’s degree from Shanghai University. Therefore, he wants to enroll in a doctoral course at this university. He will call you again tomorrow.

Okay. Thank you.

Saikawa responded and was about to leave the room, but Research Associate Kunieda was still standing there.

Anything else?

And two more, Kunieda reported. Two persons from the housing section of the prefectural government’s building department came to visit you. It was a transfer greeting.

Kunieda was silent again for a while. Saikawa could not bear such silence from her.

What’s the other one?

The other is not a big deal, though ...

Momoko Kunieda unusually smiled a little. No, it might have been Saikawa’s imagination. The fact that she smiled was unrealistic and extremely uncanny. Saikawa was inwardly horrified.

What? Saikawa asked, hating the pause in the conversation.

Sensei, I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this or not ...

I’m surprised that you are unsure of something.

Actually, I have decided to get married, Kunieda said.

What?! Saikawa raised his voice.

I apologize for the sudden notification. The wedding is in two months.

Oh, I see ... Saikawa managed to calm himself. Such an act was his mode of dealing with a first-class emergency. It was as if bells rang, and all the fireproof shutters seemed to go down one after another in Saikawa’s mind.

Momoko Kunieda getting married was as sensational as a murder case. He did not know how to explain it to someone who did not know Kunieda, but he thought she was the furthest person from that kind of topic. Maybe, that was not Saikawa’s prejudice.

Well, I’m surprised. Anyway, congratulations.

When Saikawa barely said so, Kunieda was about to leave the room silently as usual.

-4-

Saikawa walked for about ten minutes and arrived at the Denny’s near the university campus. All along the way, Saikawa imagined who Momoko Kunieda was going to marry.

Unbelievable ... totally ...

No matter how he thought about it, it was a mystery to him.

Is Momoko Kunieda getting married? With whom in the world?

And for what?

He could hardly believe that Kunieda would live with someone else.

What would be her purpose?

Well, there must be a Momoko Kunieda that I do not know. It was the only possible explanation. It had only been a few years since Kunieda began working as a research associate in Saikawa’s course. Saikawa did not know everything about her personality. In any case, Saikawa had no choice but to modify his image of Momoko Kunieda and accept this smiling fact.

Saikawa saw Moe Nishinosono’s bright red sports car parked in the restaurant’s parking lot. That would be the price of ten Civics that I have on-board. Saikawa had ridden in her car several times, but its functionality as a car was clearly inferior to Saikawa’s car. At any rate, it could accommodate only two people.

Saikawa walked through the automatic door, ignored a waiter asking, Are you dining alone, sir?, and looked around the restaurant. The word alone made Saikawa a little nervous. He was currently single and, of course, had never been married before. The mention of Momoko Kunieda’s marriage upset Saikawa in no small way. Kunieda was four years younger than Saikawa. It was no use having a sense of rivalry between the sexes, but the fact that Research Associate Kunieda in the same course was single seemed to have been a bulwark that protected Saikawa from this kind of topic all along. Whenever someone asked him if he would ever get married, Saikawa would always use an evasive answer, like, Oh, but, Kunieda-kun in my course is ...

Saikawa quickly spotted a familiar face at the far end of the restaurant.

Moe Nishinosono was wearing a plain white T-shirt. She was probably wearing jeans, although the table was in the way. It had been many years since Saikawa had last seen Moe wearing a skirt. She had straight, short hair and sunglasses on top of it. She wore prominent makeup with eye shadow. Her earring was egg-shaped, about the size of a chocolate ball, and she wore only one.

Saikawa could not give others an impression of a woman’s appearance. Still, he knew how Moe would be viewed by those around her. Everyone would look back at her.

Originally, the impression of women was really vague for Saikawa. His current external impression of Moe was a little off from what Saikawa felt was her true nature. Then, if someone asked what his internal impression of Moe was, Saikawa could not answer clearly. It seemed to him that maybe Saikawa’s perception was simply lagging behind Moe’s development.

Saikawa had known her since Moe was in elementary school. She had been a much gentler, quieter girl than she was now. Although it was a stale expression, she had once been a neat and tidy girl. It was an impression that might have been as far away from Moe now as the North and South Poles. It was clear that such a change in her was due to her parents’ accidental death.

Moe noticed Saikawa and smiled.

Sensei, you seem busy, Moe said, tilting her head.

The committee meeting took longer than I expected.

That’s part of the schedule, right? I mean, you allotted three hours for committee meetings in your calendar.

Sorry. Saikawa was at a loss for a reply. Well ... I don’t put my personal schedule on the computer.

Saikawa told a lie. Moe had come to Saikawa’s office and looked at his schedule calendar on the computer. He had forgotten to enter his appointment with Moe there. As her e-mail had said, she had discovered it. Such forgetfulness was ordinary, but this was the first time Saikawa had forgotten his promise to Moe.

When the waiter came to ask for the order, Saikawa chose curry and rice with hot coffee. Moe appeared to have already finished her meal, and only a white coffee cup was placed in front of her.

Actually, I’m sorry to tell you this, but Kita will be here soon. Saikawa looked away from Moe once and mumbled.

Moe was sipping her coffee, holding the cup with both hands. She did not respond for a while, but after a few seconds, she said. Kita-sensei is cool.

Saikawa was at least aware that Kita was more popular with women than he was.

Saikawa pulled a cigarette out of his chest pocket and lit it. He stole a glance at Moe’s expression, but she was neither angry nor smiling.

You must have gone through a lot of trouble, Nishinosono-kun. How many times have you been called by the police?

Moe held up three fingers and directed her gaze straight up to the ceiling.

They are phoning me, quite unusually often. Every single day. Thanks to that, I’ve become friends with the detectives in the First Investigation Division ... Moe spoke fast. But ... I don’t like that detective with the beard. He is not smart.

We’re still in the better part. Saikawa shrugged lightly. We were, you know ..., no more than outsiders. Also, your uncle might have given us some consideration.

Moe Nishinosono’s uncle was the chief of the Aichi Prefectural Police and Moe’s current guardian after the death of her parents.

The curry and rice was brought to the table, and Saikawa silently began to eat it. He liked curry and rice. He liked all the dishes kids liked, and the more expensive adult tastes usually differed from his favorite. Moe was silent, staring at the ceiling, seemingly thinking about something.

When Saikawa was about to tell a shocking story about Momoko Kunieda, Moe suddenly said to him.

Sensei ... I have one possibility that came to mind ...

Eh, about what?

It is about the mechanism of that locked room. Hey, can I have a cigarette? Moe said and extended her hand across the table. It was not the first time she had made this request of him.

No, you shouldn’t smoke. Saikawa ignored Moe’s extended hand and continued eating his curry and rice. Moe had a sulk slightly. Locked room? What did you find out about it?

Hearing the word locked room, Saikawa’s brain cells reacted somewhat.

So, that was a locked room ...

It was an incident that happened close to Saikawa and Moe. The case they coincidentally became involved in had occurred two weeks before.

The incident seemed to have been covered extensively on TV and in newspapers. Saikawa did not watch TV or read newspapers, so he did not know the details of what was being reported. However, according to e-mails from Kita and Moe and the story from his office staff, there had been no reports using the word locked room in the media. It was because the case details had not been made public, and the police had also asked those involved, including Saikawa, to keep quiet. Probably because it could become an important deciding factor later as information known only to the culprit.

Saikawa was not familiar with the word locked room. He had never read a mystery novel. The first time he used the word was last year in an astonishing case in which he